Locke - "To put simply, it's an amalgamation of everyone's ideas, plus something I learned down at the docks in Elexia. We've been focused on destroying these things like they were conventional enemies or simply all of them at once. The problem as I stated before is that we have no way of hampering their movement enough to where we can actually hit them, for anything to hurt the Shades needs to be focused or it doesn't harm them, and the fact these things are only a flat stone surface. What we need to do is think of the floor as water and these things are 'fish', and what we need to catch the 'fish' is a 'net'. The said 'net' will be composed of the beams of light from the orb intersecting with each other, thus trapping the Shades within our 'net', allowing everyone to strike at what they can." As Locke finished his sentence, he closed his eyes and began to focus his thoughts on the orb firing its beam once more, only this time for it to carve a large square around them with the beam.
Without skipping a beat, he opened his eyes and began explaining his plan again. "Now, while we could just hack and slash at these things it would be much faster if we had something infused with light that could 'swim' at the same speed as the shades and 'eat' them. That part comes in with the fact nobody seems to have noticed something off about me despite the fact I am glowing like the sun," he said as he looked down at his shadow.
Anyone who decided to look at the shadow could see that it seemed to be waving at them despite the fact its owner held the orb of light with both hands.
Locke apologetically shook his head at the plans the others presented to him.
Locke - "All those plans are well and good, but they won't be quick enough to actually catch the Shades or they simply take up too much energy," he began to lecture much like a teacher would. "The 'Shadow Eater' idea, while possibly doable, would not work since the Shades would simply disperse like a school of fish. You could get some, sure, but they're much too quick for one thing to handle, and we probably wouldn't be able to make more than one without diluting the light too much. Making a protective bubble would only buy us a small amount of time within a small, contained area or else it will not even deter them. As for the whirlpool, we need only look at the raincloud idea. It showed us that we cannot make it too big or dispersed or it will not even harm the Shades, and I doubt we can replicate one like the ones in Elexia, not to mention that doesn't deal with the ones on the ceiling. Only the foolish fish would swim close enough to a whirlpool, the rest would simply swim a-."
The hooded scholar paused with his mouth hung open and looked as if epiphany had struck him upon the noggin. He paced the floor for several moments with orb in hand as the cogs in his head turned and whirled, until he suddenly stopped with his manic grin returning to his face.
"That's it!" He exclaimed with excitement. "We've been thinking about this at the wrong angle! I think I've solved our problem, but this plan might require a little more energy, so it may require a memory or two more. Heck, even if it doesn't work, we could always try the plan of using more memories to power up the orb to the point where the whole room is illuminated, if that's even possble."
A manic grin grew on Locke's face as his eyes held the spark of curiosity. Such an interesting thing this orb was turning out to be, and something that formed itself to match the imagination of its user.
Locke - "Such a fascinating little thing. I've never seen such a thing like this in Elexia, not even the light mages at the Pender's Arena had any magic like this. What I'd give to study this orb with the proper tools and a pleasant night's sleep," he mumbled to himself as he pondered the possibilities of what the object could do. His thoughts came to a halt as he noticed someone had spoken to him. "Hmm? Oh, yes, rain. Just a moment, Mr. Carter, this will probably take a little more effort to form.
Closing his eyes, he focused his thoughts on the creation of cloud of light forming overhead. Not long after, small droplets of liquid light fell upon the ground below like raindrops to purge the dark creatures that littered the room. As he pictured this, the irony that a shadow mage using light magic crossed his mind. Someone he was not sure whether to find funny or exasperating.
A sense of comfort and relief flowed through Locke as the light magic coursed through him. His mind, once clouded with darkness and hint of insanity, was now dispelled with a sense of calm. He slowly opened his eyes and squinted as his eyes readjusted to the light, seeing just enough that the boy of light let go of the orb, causing Locke to catch it so that it would not fall. As he gave a sigh of relief, he could not help but notice the distinct lack of shades swarming around him, giving a small sense of comfort in the situation.
Locke - "Hmm, would it be possible to amplify the orb's power with more memories or from those of others?" He thought aloud as he examined the orb closely. "Or perhaps we could focus the light into a beam somehow, like a magnifying glass, and shine that on the shades that way. Such a curious thing this orb is."
Locke - "More like a having a moment of hindsight and probably regret, but if I'm gambling my life, may as well go all in. Here goes nothing." Upon finishing his sentence, Locke closed his eyes are forced a particularly dusty memory to rise to the surface.
The cackling sound and warmth of a fireplace were the first things to grace Locke's tired mind as he groggily arose from his slumber. The weight of a heavy blanket and sleepiness the night before kept him rooted in place as he turned his head to observe his surroundings. It looked to be a very simple room with only the basics a person would need: A cozy fireplace with a steaming pot of unknown substance, a bed, a table with some candles and chairs, cabinet, and even a small violin sitting in a corner of its own.
Boy - 'Whomever owned this place seemed a lot better off than most of the people in the district, that much was certain,' he mused to himself.
Unknown Woman - "Good to see you are finally awake," a mysterious woman said as she seemed to appear from nowhere with a what seemed to be a bowl of soup in hand. "It seems your ordeal with those men last night took more out of you than I had anticipated. Now, drink this. You will feel much better with something in your stomach."
The young boy could not decide what to make of this woman, or her supposed soup. She saved him from those thugs and took him to her home after he had passed out. Just what was her angle in all of this? Nobody does this kind of stuff out of the goodness of their heart. Such thoughts were quickly ceased upon the delight smell of food wafting beneath his nose, causing him to quickly accept the bowl and greedily gulp down its contents with gusto. A small chuckle escaped the lady's mouth as she watched the boy.
Unknown Woman - "You certainly seem to have quite the appetite, little one. By the by, do you have a name, child?"
The boy looked up from his meal only to shake his head and resume eating.
Unknown Woman - "Well, it will most certainly will not due to have a child without a name in my abode, even one as sparse as this. Now what to call you?" She mused to herself as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small brass key. As she thought deeply to herself, she began to roll the key over her knuckles much like a coin, only to suddenly stop and look at the object in hand. A small smile graced her lips as she turned to face the boy once more. "How does the name "Locke" sound to you, little one?"
With the remnants of what was once soup finally gone, the young boy shyly smiled and said,
Locke releases the grip on his blade and silently ponders to himself. A moment or two before he sighs and steps forward toward the 'Light Boy' with lantern in hand.
Locke - "I'm sick and tired of being in the dark. If it means leaving this place and feeling sunshine again, I'll gladly help out," the hooded young man said as he reached out to accept to the orb.
Upon seeing Carter recoil and ready himself for a fight, Locke's hand instinctively moved to grab the hilt of his blade to be at the ready to draw it.
Locke - "And I've been stuck in a room with all of these 'things'? Wonderful," he mused to himself with a level of discomfort in this voice. "How are we supposed to fight all of them?"
Though it was difficult to see, it was apparent that Locke seemed distressed or very annoyed at the sight of the light child.
Locke - "Um, yeah. We'll save you. Though I must ask, what monsters are you referring to? Also, why did you not provide some kind of light for the entirety I've been stuck in this room?"
Locke raised an eyebrow at the now introduced Sly and his conclusion.
Locke - "Not what I meant, but I suppose it's a possibility. Anyway, can we please focus on leaving? I haven't had anything to eat or drink for who knows how long, and I want out of the dark. Please!"
Locke - "Silence is not the preferred option when alone in the dark," visibly shivering at the thought before turning to address Sly. "Truth if stranger than fiction as they say. Besides, I sincerely doubt the deal was being made by the actual owner. One of the servants was probably trying to sell it under the table under their master's name or something, that maid might have been in on it, too. Wish I actually took the time to memorize her face so I could pay her a 'visit' for putting me through this hell."
Locke - "Um, pleasure to meet you all," he said with uncertainty as his ragtag band of 'rescuers' introduced themselves, though he had to bite his tongue at the remark regarding to his gender. "And no, I'm not a servant for the lord of the house that we are, er, were? Why does magic make life so confusing?"
"I digress, I'm getting off topic. My original mission was to acquire the painting that brought us here for the Fraternity, though I was never told the cursed thing was magical or a portal to another world. Not sure how long ago that was, considering I've been stuck in a pitch-black room with no no sunlight around. As for a maid, there was one who brought me straight in and left me on my own to appraise the painting. At this point, I'm not even sure anyone but that maid even knew I was at the estate!" His anger slowly rising as the possibility of him being set up came to his mind.
Taking a deep breath, Locke turned to address the cheer mage's question. "I'm afraid I haven't been able to see much of anything in here since I've been forced to ration what little lantern oil I had. I dare not attempt to open the door for sunlight, lest that monster attack my again. For the most part, all I've been able to do in here is eat the rations I had with me, sleep, and a few exercises. It's been rather maddening quite frankly, especially without people to talk to."
Cloaked Stranger - "Oh thank goodness, I knew the Fraternity wouldn't forget about me!" The young man exclaimed. "It's good to finally see a friendly face, or I would if I could actually see your faces." Though his face was mostly hidden by the darkness and the hood of his cloak, a shy smile could still be seen on his dimly lit face.
Locke - "Anyway, my name is Locke, and as you may have already figured out, I am a part of the Fraternity of Mages. Might I learn the names of my saviors?"
The mysterious person cautiously approached the group with what could be discerned as a lantern in hand. As it got closer it held the lantern up to try and perceive the cause of the door opening in the utter darkness, only to reveal what seemed to be a young man with a well-worn, brown cloak.
"Hello?" The stranger asked with a hushed voice, nervous as to what he may find. "Is someone there? If so, friend or foe?"
As the man is busy taking another bite of his apple, Locke infuses a small amount of magic into his hands to grab an apple from the barrel without a sound. Though he may not be hungry, it could serve as an ample distraction if need be. As quietly as he could, he shifts his position just so that there would be something directly between them and quietly prayed that the man remained oblivious.
Locke's eyes quickly darted around as he quickly surveyed the innards of the wagon. His mind raced as it searched for something else to hide behind or perhaps something lying around to distract the large man.
Without skipping a beat, he opened his eyes and began explaining his plan again. "Now, while we could just hack and slash at these things it would be much faster if we had something infused with light that could 'swim' at the same speed as the shades and 'eat' them. That part comes in with the fact nobody seems to have noticed something off about me despite the fact I am glowing like the sun," he said as he looked down at his shadow.
Anyone who decided to look at the shadow could see that it seemed to be waving at them despite the fact its owner held the orb of light with both hands.
Locke - "All those plans are well and good, but they won't be quick enough to actually catch the Shades or they simply take up too much energy," he began to lecture much like a teacher would. "The 'Shadow Eater' idea, while possibly doable, would not work since the Shades would simply disperse like a school of fish. You could get some, sure, but they're much too quick for one thing to handle, and we probably wouldn't be able to make more than one without diluting the light too much. Making a protective bubble would only buy us a small amount of time within a small, contained area or else it will not even deter them. As for the whirlpool, we need only look at the raincloud idea. It showed us that we cannot make it too big or dispersed or it will not even harm the Shades, and I doubt we can replicate one like the ones in Elexia, not to mention that doesn't deal with the ones on the ceiling. Only the foolish fish would swim close enough to a whirlpool, the rest would simply swim a-."
The hooded scholar paused with his mouth hung open and looked as if epiphany had struck him upon the noggin. He paced the floor for several moments with orb in hand as the cogs in his head turned and whirled, until he suddenly stopped with his manic grin returning to his face.
"That's it!" He exclaimed with excitement. "We've been thinking about this at the wrong angle! I think I've solved our problem, but this plan might require a little more energy, so it may require a memory or two more. Heck, even if it doesn't work, we could always try the plan of using more memories to power up the orb to the point where the whole room is illuminated, if that's even possble."
Locke - "Such a fascinating little thing. I've never seen such a thing like this in Elexia, not even the light mages at the Pender's Arena had any magic like this. What I'd give to study this orb with the proper tools and a pleasant night's sleep," he mumbled to himself as he pondered the possibilities of what the object could do. His thoughts came to a halt as he noticed someone had spoken to him. "Hmm? Oh, yes, rain. Just a moment, Mr. Carter, this will probably take a little more effort to form.
Closing his eyes, he focused his thoughts on the creation of cloud of light forming overhead. Not long after, small droplets of liquid light fell upon the ground below like raindrops to purge the dark creatures that littered the room. As he pictured this, the irony that a shadow mage using light magic crossed his mind. Someone he was not sure whether to find funny or exasperating.
Locke - "Hmm, would it be possible to amplify the orb's power with more memories or from those of others?" He thought aloud as he examined the orb closely. "Or perhaps we could focus the light into a beam somehow, like a magnifying glass, and shine that on the shades that way. Such a curious thing this orb is."
The cackling sound and warmth of a fireplace were the first things to grace Locke's tired mind as he groggily arose from his slumber. The weight of a heavy blanket and sleepiness the night before kept him rooted in place as he turned his head to observe his surroundings. It looked to be a very simple room with only the basics a person would need: A cozy fireplace with a steaming pot of unknown substance, a bed, a table with some candles and chairs, cabinet, and even a small violin sitting in a corner of its own.
Boy - 'Whomever owned this place seemed a lot better off than most of the people in the district, that much was certain,' he mused to himself.
Unknown Woman - "Good to see you are finally awake," a mysterious woman said as she seemed to appear from nowhere with a what seemed to be a bowl of soup in hand. "It seems your ordeal with those men last night took more out of you than I had anticipated. Now, drink this. You will feel much better with something in your stomach."
The young boy could not decide what to make of this woman, or her supposed soup. She saved him from those thugs and took him to her home after he had passed out. Just what was her angle in all of this? Nobody does this kind of stuff out of the goodness of their heart. Such thoughts were quickly ceased upon the delight smell of food wafting beneath his nose, causing him to quickly accept the bowl and greedily gulp down its contents with gusto. A small chuckle escaped the lady's mouth as she watched the boy.
Unknown Woman - "You certainly seem to have quite the appetite, little one. By the by, do you have a name, child?"
The boy looked up from his meal only to shake his head and resume eating.
Unknown Woman - "Well, it will most certainly will not due to have a child without a name in my abode, even one as sparse as this. Now what to call you?" She mused to herself as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small brass key. As she thought deeply to herself, she began to roll the key over her knuckles much like a coin, only to suddenly stop and look at the object in hand. A small smile graced her lips as she turned to face the boy once more. "How does the name "Locke" sound to you, little one?"
With the remnants of what was once soup finally gone, the young boy shyly smiled and said,
Locke - "I like it! Thank you, Nice Lady!"
Locke - "I'm sick and tired of being in the dark. If it means leaving this place and feeling sunshine again, I'll gladly help out," the hooded young man said as he reached out to accept to the orb.
Locke - "And I've been stuck in a room with all of these 'things'? Wonderful," he mused to himself with a level of discomfort in this voice. "How are we supposed to fight all of them?"
Locke - "Um, yeah. We'll save you. Though I must ask, what monsters are you referring to? Also, why did you not provide some kind of light for the entirety I've been stuck in this room?"
Locke - "Not what I meant, but I suppose it's a possibility. Anyway, can we please focus on leaving? I haven't had anything to eat or drink for who knows how long, and I want out of the dark. Please!"
"I digress, I'm getting off topic. My original mission was to acquire the painting that brought us here for the Fraternity, though I was never told the cursed thing was magical or a portal to another world. Not sure how long ago that was, considering I've been stuck in a pitch-black room with no no sunlight around. As for a maid, there was one who brought me straight in and left me on my own to appraise the painting. At this point, I'm not even sure anyone but that maid even knew I was at the estate!" His anger slowly rising as the possibility of him being set up came to his mind.
Taking a deep breath, Locke turned to address the cheer mage's question. "I'm afraid I haven't been able to see much of anything in here since I've been forced to ration what little lantern oil I had. I dare not attempt to open the door for sunlight, lest that monster attack my again. For the most part, all I've been able to do in here is eat the rations I had with me, sleep, and a few exercises. It's been rather maddening quite frankly, especially without people to talk to."
Locke - "Anyway, my name is Locke, and as you may have already figured out, I am a part of the Fraternity of Mages. Might I learn the names of my saviors?"
"Hello?" The stranger asked with a hushed voice, nervous as to what he may find. "Is someone there? If so, friend or foe?"